How to watch The Idol online: stream the new music drama show

Abel Tesfaye in The Idol
Abel Tesfaye in The Idol (Image credit: HBO)

The last episode of HBO's latest big-budget show The Idol is here, with Sunday, July 2 bringing the fifth and final installment in the maligned tale that everyone can't stop watching.

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The Idol follows struggling pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) who starts to find her footing in the pop world while beginning a relationship with self-help guru Tedros (Abel Tesfaye, better known as artist The Weeknd).

A drama that skewers the US music industry, plenty of successful musicians play supporting roles in the show with Moses Sumney, Jennie Ruby Jane and Troye Sivan appearing.

The Idol made a splash upon its Cannes debut, and if you want to find out why, we'll help you figure out how to stream the show — or watch it on TV if the option is available to you in your country.

How to watch The Idol in the US

If you have the HBO cable channel, you'll be able to watch The Idol using it, with the show airing at 9 pm ET/PT on Sundays.

If not, the easiest way of watching The Idol in the US is by using the newly-renamed streaming service Max, formerly HBO Max, which will get the show at the same time it airs on HBO.

This service costs $9.99 per month for its ad-enabled tier ($99.99 annually) or $15.99 for the ad-free one ($149.99 annually) — there's also a $19.99 tier that enables streaming in 4K and with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and The Idol is one of the shows which is streaming with these enhancements.

How to watch The Idol in the UK

In the UK, The Idol will be airing on Sky TV, but there's a catch — as with most HBO shows each episode will only be available to view a day after its US release, so that’s each Monday.

The show will air on Sky Atlantic at 9 pm, and be available to stream through Sky's video-on-demand library too. You don't need any of the Sky add-on packages, just Sky Entertainment, which costs £29 per month.

At the time of writing, there's a free trial on your first month of this bundle though, which puts the price at exactly £0 for your first month, and you can find that here.

How to watch The Idol in Australia

In Australia, you've got several different options for watching The Idol, where it releases on each Monday.

The show will be playing on two different streaming services: firstly there's Foxtel Now, which costs $25 per month, and there's also Binge, which costs $10 for its most basic tier.

You'll also be able to watch it on Fox Showcase that day at 11 am.

Tom Bedford
Streaming and Ecommerce Writer

Tom is the streaming and ecommerce writer at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK. His goal is to help you navigate the busy and confusing online video market, to help you find the TV, movies and sports that you're looking for without having to spend too much money.